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Chryssalid
A Chryssalid is an enemy in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Description The Chryssalid is a swift, four-legged alien with terrifying melee capabilities. Usually first encountered in small groups on Terror Site missions, Chryssalids deal heavy damage with melee and have a high chance to inflict poison damage. When a Chryssalid kills a human (a civilian or a soldier), it will implant an embryo in them. This causes the corpse to rise up as a Zombie in the next turn, which will spawn a "Chryssalid Hatchling" after three turns. This newborn Chryssalid is statistically and behaviorally identical to a regular Chryssalid, but has a visually lighter color of chitin armor which changes to the usual purple within a couple turns. A newborn Chryssalid can move and attack the turn it emerges. As shown in the Site Recon mission from XCOM: Enemy Within, Chryssalids can also use sufficiently large bioforms (such as a whale) as an incubator hive. According to the Ethereal hive mind, Chryssalids were uplifted by the Ethereals in an effort to search for "the Gift" and that they were "little more than insects when their uplift began". Lifecycle of a Chryssalid XCOM(EU)_Chryssalid_CornersCivilian.png|Stage 1: A Chryssalid finds and kills a human victim XCOM(EU)_Chryssalid_ImplantsVictim.png|Stage 2: The Chryssalid "impregnates" its victim by laying an egg in the corpse's chest XCOM(EU)_Zombie.png|Stage 3: The Chryssalid embryo couples itself to the central nervous system of its host, taking over the body to become a "Zombie" XCOM(EU)_Chryssalid_Hatches.png|Stage 4: In short period of time the Zombie will burst apart as a new Chryssalid is born XCOM(EU)_Chryssalid_Hatchling.png|Stage 5: A healthy Chryssalid "Hatchling" emerges ready to kill more humans Deployment Chryssalids appear during the second month, regardless of the game's "Marathon" Second Wave option. Their chance of being deployed declines from May to July (Marathon: June to October), as units such as Cyberdiscs and Berserkers are introduced. Chryssalids can be deployed for several mission types, including terror sites and large UFO landing and crash sites, but are not encountered during Abduction missions. Abilities Traits Capturing * Despite being obviously organic, Chryssalids cannot be stunned. They have a simple insectoid nervous system and several bioluminescent sensory projections that they use like tuning forks to detect the electromagnetic fields emitted by live prey. This is evidenced by their ability to "see" where units with mimetic skin are (though they are unable to attack them) and run into melee range of units beyond their visual perception. Thus, an electric shock will not affect them in the same way as other aliens with a nervous system more closely resembling that of a human's. In addition, the Chryssalids are non-sapient, so nothing of value would be gained from a prospective interrogation besides residual memories of their uplift procedures. Research * Chryssalid Autopsy - Unlocks Chitin Plating production Tactics Chryssalids can cover great distances in a single turn, have enough durability to survive multiple hits from everything but the heaviest weapons, and ignore cover when launching attacks. When facing groups of Chryssalids, you may wish to retreat your soldiers to cleared territory before firing in order to create as much distance between you and the Chryssalid as possible; however Assault soldiers with the appropriate critical boosting abilities and a Shotgun (or, more preferably, a Scatter Laser) can kill one with a single shot at point blank range. Naturally, getting so close to a Chryssalid is potentially fatal, so providing fire support and further augmenting this tactic with the Rapid Fire ability will greatly improve your soldier's odds of survival. As Chryssalids carry no equipment, you can freely use explosives to kill them without any penalty and the recovered Chryssalid Corpses can be used to craft Chitin Plating, an that item greatly reduces the melee damage these foes deal. Overwatch can be very effective against Chryssalids, as they never use cover and have to move close to their targets to attack; Assault soldiers with the ability Close Combat Specialist can also exploit this. However, Chryssalids occasionally exploit full cover in the environment to conceal their approach from your soldier's line of sight. This can be especially problematic if your soldiers are pinned down by overwatch or suppression, preventing them from reacting to the threat. Chryssalids are highly resistant to psionics; at 120 Will the chance to Mind Control is approximately 37%. As of update 3 of the game, on Classic difficulty, the chance to Mind Control a Chryssalid with the soldier having 95 base Will and wearing Psi Armor (115 Will total) is 60%. The soldier having 100 base Will and wearing both Psi Armor and Mind Shield (and having 150 Will total) has an 85% chance to Mind Control a Chryssalid. A soldier with 120 base will wearing Psi Armor and a Mind Shield (thus having 170 will total) has a 100% chance to Mind Control the Chryssalid. In XCOM: Enemy Within, Chryssalids are very susceptible to a MEC's Flamethrower as revealed swarms tend to advance together toward or crowd around victims. In addition to wounding or killing a number of the aliens, the Flamethrower can also cause Chryssalids to panic and flee, making them susceptible to counter-attacks. However, this can be just as big of a problem considering the Chryssalid's high mobility. A preemptive overwatch trap should prove effective in killing any Chryssalids that attempt to flee. Multiplayer Although its poison is a useful ability, Chryssalids should be held in reserve and target only humans that will be killed in one attack. The ability to spawn Zombies is by far the most useful ability of the Chryssalid, and once spawned a player should have the Zombie flee until it can mature into new a Chryssalid. Although the Chryssalid can cover a massive distance in one turn by using both actions for moving, there is no point if you cannot attack after moving. You must keep it hidden at all costs until an enemy comes within range. One good tactic is to keep it inside a building near the wall, then have it leap up and attack unsuspecting soldiers on the roof. They can be utilized as assassins but must one shot the target or nothing will be gained. Remember that Chryssalids cannot utilize cover, so it is useless to keep it directly on a corner. It must be at least one space back from the corner in order to not be spotted. Good Against: most Humans Bad Against: Assaults, flying units Trivia *In the original UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994) game, Chryssalids are crab-like creatures that stand on two legs. They have the same role as quick-moving terror agents that can impregnate victims, and are often teamed with Snakemen. * The codename for their autopsy, Ripley, is a reference to the main character's last name from the Alien movie franchise. The similarity between Chryssalids and Xenomorphs supports this reference. * XCOM: Enemy Within features a new Site Recon mission in which Chryssalids and Zombies are the sole enemy types encountered. *In XCOM: Enemy Within, Chryssalids giving the Bioelectric Skin gene mod may be related with their awareness of units that they cannot see. Gallery XCOM-EU_Chryssalid.jpg|Alien Lifeform Report XCOM Concept Art Piero Macgowan 12a.jpg|Concept Art XCOM Concept Art Piero Macgowan 10a.jpg|Concept art by Piero McGowan XCOM(EU)Chryssalids.jpg|Chryssalids appear on a rooftop XCOM(EU) Chryssalid KillsCivilian.jpg|A Chryssalid slaughters a civilian Chryssalid_Zombie.png|A Chryssalid implanting a victim Chryssalid Hatchling2.jpg|A newborn Chryssalid Hatchling XCOM(EU)Chryssalid_KillsSoldier.jpg|A Chryssalid kills an unlucky XCOM Soldier Category:Enemies (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)